Introducing Vegetable Glycerin for Hair

What is vegetable glycerin?

Glycerin is generally popular as being really good for our skin and hair, especially for natural, curly hair. Generally speaking, women with tightly curled hair find glycerin very beneficial. It is an excellent natural moisturizer because of its ability to absorb and keep moisture. Therefore it can be found in many beauty products, and you can be sure that your skin and natural, curly hair will be well moisturized if you use them. On the other hand, you can use vegetable glycerin on its own, but we will discuss that later in this article.

Before we start, we have to mention that there are three types of glycerin: animal, vegetable, or synthetic. In this article we are going to talk more about vegetable glycerin for hair. For example, vegetable glycerin can be derived from Shea butter or coconut. Their oils have also been proven to be excellent for our hair.

The benefits of vegetable glycerin for hair

While many women agree or disagree whether glycerin is good for hair, there are certain benefits of glycerin we cannot deny. For example:

Glycerin improves natural hair moisture and elasticity.

It also helps prevent hair breakage.

It stimulates hair growth.

It improves hair strength.

Based on the previous benefit, It has been proven that it is a great conditioner for brittle, dry or frizzy hair.

How to make water and vegetable glycerin mix

We can say that glycerin is great for your hair but only if you use it properly, diluted with water. One way to use it is to make your own water-vegetable glycerin mix.

When we mix glycerin with water we get a homemade moisturizer perfect for natural hair. In order to make your vegetable glycerin and water mix, you will need the following:

some essential oils (rosemary, lavender, peppermint oil) of your choice. This is optional, but adding a few drops of essential oil will be extra for your scalp and hair.

Open your spray bottle and add 1 part of glycerin and 4 parts of water. Close your spray bottle, shake it for a while, and there you go – you have just made your Vegetable Glycerin and Water Mix.

If you want, you can add 5-10 drops of essential oil depending on how strong you want the scent to be.

Note: Before you use glycerin for the first time it is wise to apply a little on your skin and see how it will react. Using too much glycerin can make your scalp dry..

Word of caution

If you have generally oily hair then it is better not to use glycerin. However, if you are trying to get rid of dry, tightly curled hair, feel free to try vegetable glycerin.

One of the problems you may experience when using vegetable glycerin for hair is that if it is too cold or too hot its moisturizing effect can be reversed. This means that it is going to draw water out of the hair in such conditions when there is very little moisture. It will actually make your hair look dry.

Generally it is best to mix glycerin with water because by doing this glycerin will absorb as much water as it needs so it won’t absorb more from your hair or the surrounding. Avoid using pure glycerin on hair. Mixing it with water is the right combination.